January 20, 2012

Ms. Karin W. Rilley

Associate General Counsel

University of North Texas System

1155 Union Circle #310907

Denton, Tex 76203-5017

OR2012-00929

Dear Ms. Rilley:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 443034 (UNT PIR No. 000801).

The University of North Texas (the "university") received a request for all documents, videos, and recordings pertaining to a specified arrest made by a university police officer that occurred on October 10, 2011. You state you will release basic information to the requestor. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that a portion of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted representative sample of information. ⁽²⁾

We first note that the submitted information includes intoxilyzer results. Section 724.018 of the Transportation Code provides that upon the request of the person who has given a specimen at the request of a peace officer, full information concerning the analysis of the specimen must be made available to that person or the person's attorney. In this instance, the requestor is the attorney of the person who gave the breath specimen at the request of a peace officer. Therefore, the submitted intoxilyzer results, which we have marked, must be released to this requestor pursuant to section 724.018 of the Transportation Code.

Section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime . . . if . . . release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime[.]" Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state, and provide documentation from the Denton County Criminal District Attorney's Office (the "district attorney") confirming, the submitted information relates to a pending criminal investigation and prosecution and the district attorney requested that this information be withheld. Based on these representations, we find that release of the remaining information you have marked in the submitted documents, as well as the submitted compact disk and VHS tape in their entirety, would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curium, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Accordingly, with the exception of the intoxilyzer results which we have marked, the university may withhold the information you have marked in the submitted documents, as well as the submitted compact disk and VHS tape in their entirety, under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. ⁽³⁾

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Sean Opperman

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SO/dls

Ref: ID# 443034

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. See Gov't Code § 552.108(c) (stating basic information about arrested person, arrest, or crime may not be withheld under section 552.108); Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered basic information).

2. We assume the "representative sample" of information submitted to this office is truly representative of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the extent those records contain substantially different types of information than those submitted to this office.

3. Because the requestor has a right of access to a portion of the information being released, which would be confidential with respect to the general public, if the university receives another request for this information, the university must again seek a ruling from this office.

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer